issue 1 | autumn | 2004 eencountersncounters

message from highlights in this issue EMBO Executive Director

The launch of EMBOencounters inclined to send their best papers to these Nobel Prize for opens up a new channel of com- journals. It would be disappointing if the EMBO EMBO members munication for the EMBO com- membership became disengaged from these munity. The organisation has actions, which help EMBO to perform the full María Blasco wins never been complacent about scope of its activities today. EMBO’s reputation EMBO Gold Medal communications, but has perhaps not always is very much linked to the standing of its jour- EMBO and NPG launch found the right formula to convey its news nals, so the role that EMBO members play in new journal effectively. A recent survey of the EMBO mem- these publications is crucial. EMBOencounters bership highlighted this issue and showed that EMBOencounters is one way of bringing members are often unaware of the full range EMBO and its community closer together. The talks to Susan Gasser of EMBO activities. idea is to promote three-way communication New EMBO members Without the right information, it is difficult – not only between EMBO and its members, for you to become fully engaged in EMBO’s young investigators and fellows but also in a New young investigators actions. We want to find a way to counter this cyclical nature within the EMBO community. Speakers corner – the ERC – for your benefit as scientists and also to help We could all benefit from the networking an spread the word on EMBO’s activities. It is only organisation like EMBO can offer and our hope continue to use the newsletter as a forum for in this way that we can ensure as many peo- is that this new launch, spearheaded by their news. Your reaction to this first issue will ple as possible in the EMBC member states Lindsay Johnson, our new Communications be an important guide on how best to develop benefit from EMBO. Officer, will achieve these goals. its content and style in the future. I look for- A disturbing trend points to EMBO mem- Contributions from EMBO members to ward to using my column in future quarterly bers becoming less involved as referees with EMBOencounters have made this first edition issues to bring you up to date with topics of The EMBO Journal and EMBO reports and less all the richer and we hope that readers will particular importance. Frank Gannon

EMBO celebrates the big 4-0 40th anniversary of EMBO’s foundation

Rumour has it the big ‘4-0’ is not so big as it EMBO, spoke of the organisation’s role used to be. It seems 40 is young by today’s in her career. Nüsslein-Volhard de- standards and even more so in the life of a sci- scribed EMBO as “an organisation with entific organisation. Nonetheless, at 40 years enormous impact on the advancement ‘young’, EMBO could not let this milestone of biological sciences.” On a personal pass by without proper celebration. EMBO note Nüsslein-Volhard added, “EMBO members came from far and wide to attend was a great source of support to me, at the 40th anniversary celebrations in a time when I was getting little help from Heidelberg on June 18–20. elsewhere.” Set high on the hill above Heidelberg, its For Frank Gannon, Executive Director home since 1973, EMBO has come a long way of EMBO, the event was particularly sat- Executive Directors of EMBO – 1965 to present: since its foundation in 1964. Many of EMBO’s isfying. “The discussions that engaged Raymond Appleyard, John Tooze, Frank Gannon current initiatives were showcased at the the founding EMBO members and sub- anniversary meeting, but the event also gave sequent generations of scientists showed that commemorative edition now serves as a per- the opportunity to look back at the early days EMBO today has a major impact on European manent recollection of the events, history and and the scientific advances in which many science – and that is a real reason for celebra- timelines leading to the historic beginnings of EMBO members have had a hand. Christiane tion. Now EMBO looks forward to new chal- EMBO and EMBC and includes personal recol- Nüsslein-Volhard, Director of Genetics at the lenges and continued success.” lections from EMBO members spanning the Max Planck Institute for Developmental To coincide with the meeting, EMBO pub- past 40 years. Biology in Tübingen and Secretary General of lished a special 40th anniversary book. This www.embo.org/press/EMBO_40yrs.html

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Nobel Prize for EMBO members A systemic approach Two Israeli members win Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 EMBO and NPG launch Molecular Systems Biology journal EMBO members, Aaron Ciechanover and “The protein-destroying process the scien- Avram Hershko of the Technion Institute of tists discovered was completely unexpected, March 2005 will see the launch of a new open- Technology in Haifa, Israel have been honoured because scientists had thought that such access, online publication from EMBO and with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004. destruction was not regulated”, said Lars NPG. Molecular Systems Biology will be the Ciechanover is director of the Rappaport Thelander, a member of the Nobel Committee first online journal to be dedicated solely to the Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute and for Chemistry. Thelander said researchers now emerging field of systems biology at the Hershko, originally from Hungary, is a profes- hope they will be able to manipulate the pro- molecular level – and also marks the first sor in the biochemistry unit at the Technion. tein degradation system in two different ways direct involvement of EMBO with the open- The two scientists share the prize with – either to prevent it from destroying proteins access publication model. American, Irwin Rose. that boost the immune system or to eliminate Hershko, Ciechanover and Rose receive the proteins that help cause diseases. molecu ar prize in recognition of their discovery of ubiq- At a news conference in the Haifa, the two uitin-mediated protein degradation. Over the Israelis said they hope their work will lead to systems past few decades much attention and new advances in the treatment of cancer. One bio ogy research has been devoted to understanding such drug, Velcade, is currently on the US mar- how the cell controls the synthesis of a certain ket, Ciechanover noted, and “there are many Available solely as an online journal, Molecular protein. The reverse, the degradation or break- more in the pipeline.” Hershko added, “It does Systems Biology will use an author-pays open- ing down of proteins, has been less explored. not mean that a miracle drug to beat cancer is access pricing model. This means that all read- Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko and Irwin on the way. But I do believe there will be ers will be able to access research papers free Rose went against the stream and at the advances in the treatment of cancer based on of charge. Publication costs will be met in part beginning of the 1980s discovered one of the our work. This I truly believe in.” by a charge to authors for each article pub- cell's most important cyclical processes, regu- lished. lated protein degradation – how the human http://nobelprize.org Publication of a journal of this kind recog- body singles out unwanted proteins for /chemistry/laureates/2004/index.html nizes the importance of systems biology as an destruction to defend itself from disease (the emerging field and the need to make research so-called ‘kiss of death’ molecular label). in this area available to as wide an audience as possible in an appropriate format. The journal will publish relevant high quality research in the evolving fields of bioinformatics, genomics Felicidades María Blasco! and proteomics, microbial systems, cell signal- EMBO Gold Medal goes to spanish scientist ing and computational networks while work- ing with the systems biology community to Spanish scientist, this point in his words of congratulations, present standards and metrics for global com- María Blasco of the “María’s contribution to cancer research is plex datasets. Centro Nacional de unquestionable and her unstinting dedication Molecular Systems Biology will publish high Investigaciones makes her the ideal role model for other young quality, peer-reviewed research using pioneer- Oncológicas (CNIO) researchers.” On hearing the news of her suc- ing technologies, innovative formats and in Madrid, wins the cess, María commented, “I’m honoured to world-class editing. The senior editors of the EMBO Gold Medal accept this prestigious award. I hope my journal are proven leaders in the field – Ruedi 2004. María receives achievement will inspire other women in sci- Aebersold, a founding member of the Institute the award in recog- ence to persevere in their career.” for Systems Biology in Seattle; Peer Bork, coor- María Blasco nition of her land- The EMBO Gold Medal was presented at dinator of the Structural and Computational mark work in the the Ministry of Science in Vienna, Austria on Biology Programme at EMBL, Heidelberg; area of telomeres. The scientist’s research has October 15, 2004 as part of the EMBO George Church, Professor of Genetics at had a groundbreaking impact on cancer Members Meeting, “Frontiers of Molecular Harvard Medical School and Director of the research and gained wide recognition in the Biology”. Centre for Computational Genetics; Leroy field. www.embo.org Hood, co-founder and President of the Institute The EMBO Gold Medal is awarded annually to /press/gold_medal2004.html for Systems Biology in Seattle; and Edison Liu, a European scientist under 40 years of age Executive Director of the Genome Institute in with the aim of bringing the very best young Singapore. They will work together with a ded- researchers in Europe to the attention of a icated team of EMBO editors based at the global audience. As a recipient of the medal, EMBO offices in Heidelberg. María is honoured as being a role model for For news of other EMBO For more information or to submit a paper, other young scientists in Europe. EMBO members’ successes, see go to: Executive Director, Frank Gannon emphasised the Awards Column (p.10) www.molecularsystemsbiology.com

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Reaching out Science and technology – a risky business? Family-friendly and far-reaching EMBO reports investigates fellowship criteria Contributors to this special issue include: EMBO has long been committed to promoting Tikki Pang family-friendly conditions and mobility in Director of Research, Policy and Cooperation research – reflected in its Restart and World at the World Health Organisation (WHO): Programme fellowships. July 2003 saw EMBO “Globalization and risks to health” taking this a step further by integrating the for- José Mariano Gago mer Restart and World Programme fellowships Professor of Physics at the Instituto Superior into the main EMBO Fellowship Programme. Técnico in Lisbon and former Portuguese Time constraints and career breaks arising Minister of Science and Technology: from childcare commitments as well as geo- “Science policy for risk governance” graphical borders can often hinder the career development process for scientists. Changes David Ropeik to the eligibility criteria of EMBO long-term fel- Director of Risk Communication at Harvard lowships now bring greater flexibility to career University: break candidates and those with childcare “The consequences of fear” obligations. One example is the opportunity for Peter Weingart these candidates to apply to carry out their Director of the Institute for Science and two-year fellowship on a part-time basis over Technology Studies at the University of a period of up to three years. Bielefeld: Integration of the World Programme fellow- Risk – a small word with huge implications for “Science in a political environment” ship criteria into the short-term fellowship pro- science and technology. In a special issue, pub- gramme widens EMBO’s reach outside Europe. lished in October 2004, EMBO reports exam- Candidates from non-EMBC members states ines the perceptions, challenges and social can now apply to take up fellowships in EMBC repercussions associated with the risks of new member states. The same holds true for appli- technology. With an emphasis on the biological cants from EMBC member states wishing to sciences, a series of 13 articles on governance, collaborate with a laboratory in a non-member risk research, risk assessment and public per- state. The main objective is to bring benefit to ception explore the dichotomy between the the candidate’s home laboratory and promote benefits of scientific and technological collaboration. advances and the real and perceived risks of Demand for EMBO fellowships remains these new developments. Read more: www.emboreports.org high with a record number of eligible applica- tions received this year. www.embo.org /fellowships/fellow_guide.html EMBO deadlines 2005

NEW!! EMBO Conference Series EMBO invites applications for the new EMBO Conference Series. Best of both worlds Successful applicants are guaranteed support for a series of EMBO and Marie Curie Cooperation 1 three conferences over a six-year period. The aim is to provide a February European equivalent to similar types of conferences in the USA. EMBO and Marie Curie have come together to For further information e-mail: [email protected] offer an attractive solution to fellowship appli- cants who are simultaneously offered an EMBO EMBO long-term fellowship and a Marie Curie Practical Courses, fellowship. The aim is to allow candidates who EMBO Workshops, are successful in both schemes to carry out 1 15 Long-Term Conferences, the two fellowships over a combined period of February February Fellowships Lectures three years. For information on the EMBO and Marie Curie application procedure: EMBO EMBO www.embo.org 1 Young Investigator 15 Science Writing /fellowships/fellow_guide.html April Programme April Prize www.mariecurie.org

EMBOencounters | autumn 2004 | ©2004 EMBO [email protected] 4 EMBO events 2004/2005 young investigator corner bringing news of Europe’s very best young scientists

‘Yip Yip’ Hooray New EMBO Prestigious awards go to young investigators 2004 six EMBO young investigators 2004 Selections for the EMBO Young Nov 28–Dec 1, Staffelstein, D Identifying and promoting Europe’s very best Investigator Programme 2004 were EMBO molecular medicine meeting: young independent scientists is the main goal announced on October 12, 2004. 20 Ras-, Raf-, Myc-signalling in lymphoma, of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. young investigators were selected leukemia and other diseases As well as supporting successful applicants in from a total 172 applications: Nov 30–Dec 4, Coorg, India the early stages of their independent careers, Workshop: the programme does a great deal to raise the Cell interactions in development and Reuven Agami, NL disease profile of the young researchers. Six EMBO Nov 30–Dec 8, Cape Town, South Africa young investigators recently stepped further Facundo Batista, UK EMBO/Wellcome Trust workshop: into the spotlight when they were presented AIDS and TB: the way ahead with prestigious scientific awards. Buzz Baum, UK Dec 4–8, Gaeta, I Five EMBO young investigators were Conference: among 25 brilliant young scientists to take Critical assessment of techniques for home the European Young Investigator Award Axel Behrens, UK protein structure prediction (EURYIA) presented at the EuroScience Open Dec 16–18, Hyderabad, India Forum in Stockholm this August. Reuven Anne Bertolotti, F Workshop: Agami, Oscar Marin Parra, Maria Mota, Cell interactions in development and Matthias Bochtler, PL* disease Francesc Posas and Bas van Steensel each received awards of between Euro 1 to 1.25 mil- Jan 10–21, Accra, Ghana lion to further their research and independent Practical course: Santiago Elena, E RNAi and reverse genetics in careers in Europe. trypanosomes The EURYIA scheme was developed by the Jiri Friml, D European Heads of Research Councils 2005 (EUROHORCs) together with the European Karim Labib, UK Jan 13–15, Marseilles, F Science Foundation (ESF) to attract and retain Workshop: outstanding young international researchers Elena A. Levashina, F The road ahead – Future directions in from all research fields and help them create fundamental and clinical immunology their own research teams at European David Leys, UK Jan 17–28, Singapore research centres. The five EMBO young investi- Practical course: gators represented over half of the awards Live cell imaging Kevin Mitchell, IRL going to bioscientists. Jan 27–29, Heidelberg, D The awards were presented by EMBO Young Investigators Simon Geir Møller, UK EUROHORCs president, Professor Ernst-Ludwig Lab Management Course Winnacker, CEO of ESF, Bertil Andersson and Feb 14–19, Milan, I Panayiota Poirazi, GR Nobel Laureate, Paul Crutzen. Bertil Andersson Practical course: Functional genomics: making sense commented, “Scientists are often in the early Christian Spahn, D out of transcriptomes stages of their career when they formulate Mar 13–20, Monterotondo, I new ideas which later lead to paradigm shifts Practical course: or a Nobel Prize. Therefore, if we want to sup- Katja Sträßer, D From mice to cells port creativity and progress in science we Mar 16–20, Corsica, F should focus on the next generation of scien- Michael Stumpf, UK Workshop: tists and give them independence to pursue Meiotic divisions and checkpoints their own ideas.” Olivier Voinnet, F Mar 17–19, Oxford, UK Another EMBO young investigator, Uri Alon Workshop: mRNA 3' Ends – from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Anton Wutz, A Interconnections with transcription, Israel, was recently honoured with the ISCB translation and mRNA turnover (International Society for Computational Samuel Zeeman, CH Mar 30–April 9, Plymouth, UK Biology) 2004 Overton Prize. Chair of the ISCB Practical course: Awards Committee, Larry Hunter, said of Uri, Optical techniques for cell physiology *EMBO/HHMI Young Investigator and developmental biology “Uri Alon epitomizes the spirit of the Overton Prize. Despite being in a relatively early stage of his career, he has made significant contribu- For more information: For full details and links to individual events see: tions to computational biology, particularly in www.embo.org/projects/yip www.embo.org the areas of network motifs and the design www.esf.org /projects/courses_workshops principles of biological networks.” www.iscb.org

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EMBO on a course to India From Hawaii EMBO practical course in Bangalore with love EMBO Science Writing Prize 2004 Bangalore, India played host to an EMBO prac- discussing further collaboration with their tical course on ‘Functional Imaging in Cell and Indian colleagues. EMBO and NCBS will join “The name’s Pond, Developmental Biology’ on September 12–19, forces once again on November 30 to James Pond,” sets 2004 as part of EMBO World Activities. The December 4, 2005 in Coorg, India for a work- the scene for a tale course met with extraordinary demand with a shop on molecular physiology of intracellular of intrigue and dis- grand total of 170 global applications. The for- calcium signalling. covery that is ‘From mula of accepting one-third European partici- Further links with India will be forged on Hawaii with Love’ – pation worked to encourage networking December 16–18 this year with a workshop in the winning entry in amongst the 20 young participating scientists. Hyderabad on Cell Interactions in Devel- the EMBO Science Held at the National Centre for Biological opment and Disease sponsored by EMBO Writing Prize 2004. Sciences (NCBS), co-sponsor with EMBO, the World Activities and the Hyderabad Centre for Penned by Matthew J. Bottomley of the practical course was enthusiastically received Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare in by both the students and organisers. www.embo.org Rome, ‘From Hawaii with Love’ takes a novel Director of NCBS, K. VijayRaghavan en- /projects/courses_workshops look at the use of quorum-sensing systems in thused, “The course was a tremendous suc- transcriptional regulation of bacteria. Pseudo- cess and a first in many ways. It brought the monas aeruginosa bacteria, for example, are a EMBO World Programme into India in an exem- leading cause of hospital-acquired infections plary manner and brought students from all Lights, camera, action and rely on quorum-sensing to cause disease. over the world to Bangalore to a wonderful EMBO Media Workshop The lively dialogue tells of how James Pond period of intense science and collaboration, stumbles across the phenomenon of the glow- the effects of which will last many lifetimes.” On June 10, 2004 EMBO fellows and other ing Bobtail Squid and learns how its quorum- The European organisers, Philippe Bastiaens interested scientists participated in the EMBO sensing technology can be used in the fight and Rainer Pepperkok of EMBL, are currently Media Workshop, led by Bernard Dixon OBE, against the “pseudo” bacteria. renowned science communicator. Outside of The EMBO Science Writing Prize is awarded informative talks and panel discussions from annually for an outstanding piece of science Teachers work it out well-known media experts, participants had writing that effectively communicates a topi- EMBO practical workshops for the chance to try out their writing skills, dis- cal issue to a non-scientific audience. Matthew science teachers cuss articles and try their hand at role-playing Bottomley was presented with the award on and press interviews with journalists. The October 15 at the EMBO Members Meeting in Throughout 2003 and 2004, some 700 to 800 interactive workshop was professionally Vienna. teachers from 20 countries across Europe recorded and will be available as a media train- To read the came together in their respective countries to ing DVD for scientists by early 2005. winning entry and attend EMBO practical workshops for science The next EMBO media workshop, open to find out more abut teachers. EMBO coordinates these workshops all, runs in Heidelberg on June 18, 2005. the EMBO Science for a range of organisations, initiatives and www.embo.org Writing Prize visit: companies as part of the EU-funded project, /projects/scisoc/mws.html Continuing Education for European Biology Teachers (CEEBT). Held across nine locations in Europe and Information overload? Israel so far, the latest workshop took place in E-BioSci can help Copenhagen in August 2004. EMBO practical www.embo.org workshops for science teachers are based A brand new release of the electronic informa- /projects/scisoc/writing04.html around scientific talks, hands-on practical tion platform, E-BioSci, is now live. Funded by experiments and exhibitions that give partici- the European Commission, E-BioSci is a unique upcoming deadline pants an insight into the latest techniques literature and gene search engine that inte- Science Writing Prize 2005 being used in molecular biology today. grates and interrelates research literature in If you are interested in organising a similar the life sciences with data from different April 15, 2005 event and do not yet have a copy of EMBO’s molecular, genomic and image databases. The guide for organisers and DVD, e-mail latest release allows users to explore the con- [email protected]. nections between search results with more ‘Spotlight on Teachers’, the fourth EMBO ease and navigate more smoothly between international workshop for secondary school them. science teachers takes place on June 13–14, Try out the latest version and give us your 2005 in Heidelberg. feedback: www.embo.org http://prototype.e-biosci.com /projects/scisoc/teachers05.html www.e-biosci.org

EMBOencounters | autumn 2004 | ©2004 EMBO [email protected] 6 EMBOencounters talks to

Susan Gasser, Chair of EMBO Council A voice for EMBO members

Susan Gasser, recently appointed Director of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland, has been an EMBO member since 1993. In 1997 she was elected Vice-Chair of EMBO Council and in July 2003 took on the position of Council Chair.

EMBOencounters (E): You’ve been with EMBO Council for some years now. How do you view the role of the Council in EMBO’s activities?

Susan Gasser (SG): Basically, EMBO Council has a fairly clear-cut function. Members of the Council are elected to provide EMBO with independent input on scientific standards and policy and to help guide the activities of the organization – like a kind of scientific advisory board. Council meetings with EMBO staff pro- vide a forum for airing diverse viewpoints on trends in European science and give us the means of integrating these views into EMBO actions.

E: In this sense, would you say that EMBO Council is a voice for EMBO members?

SG: Certainly – we aim to achieve that as far as possible. EMBO’s members are the basis for its reputation and it’s important to reflect their views in the organization and in any actions EMBO takes in the European scientific Susan Gasser arena. Of course, EMBO already has close links with its members – many are directly of EMBO activities and guide its future direc- stantly evolving in line with changes in Europe involved in EMBO programme committees tions more effectively. and EMBO itself. Essentially it works in a cycli- and other EMBO activities. “Involvement” really is the key word here. cal nature – as EMBO evolves and widens its However, beyond this level of involvement, An excellent example has been our behind reach, so must the Council. And as the scien- the Council tries to represent the diversity of the scenes contribution to EMBO’s publishing tific community reacts to changes, the Council interests of the collective EMBO membership activities. Council meetings gave rise to lively helps to bring this input to EMBO. in discussions on EMBO activities. At the same debate on the question of “open access” One thing is for sure – EMBO Council time, we act as a sounding board for new electronic publishing and its relationship to members will have to continue to think ideas and activities. The EMBO Journal and EMBO reports.One “beyond their own labs” to answer the chal- direct outcome of these discussions will be lenge of representing the values and aims of E: So how does that work in practice and can the launch by EMBO and NPG of the online, the wider scientific community to the govern- you give a concrete example? open access Molecular Systems Biology jour- ments, people and scientists of Europe. nal in March 2005. Basically we are just trying to continue what SG: First of all, at the Council member level, EMBO has done so effectively over the past we try to achieve a balance in terms of coun- E: How do you see the role of EMBO Council 40 years. tries, research areas, age, and gender. evolving in the years to come? Secondly, each member is allocated to a pro- gramme and at least once a year exchanges SG: This very much depends on the evolution input and suggestions with the EMBO commit- of science in Europe and the will of the EMBO tees and programme managers. This helps membership. The very nature of the Council’s Council members gain a better understanding responsibility means that we need to be con-

European Molecular Biology Organization 7

The votes are in EMBO members elect 2005 Council

Each year the EMBO membership elects three co-opted to the EMBO Council – Anton Berns Institut Gulbenkian de Ciencia in Oeiras, members to serve on the EMBO Council. The of the Division of Molecular Genetics at the Portugal. The Council thanked Antonio for his results of this year’s elections reinstated Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam contribution to Council activities over the past Carlos Martinez-A. of the Department of and Roberto di Lauro of the Stazione Zoologica 5 years and looked forward to Erik’s input from Immunology and Oncology at the Centro A. Dohrn in Naples. The elections take effect January 2005. Nacional de Biotecnología in Madrid and Ingrid from January 2005. Grummt of the German Cancer Research Existing Council member, Erik Boye of the Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. Newly elected for Department of Cell Biology at the Institute for 2005 is Daniel Louvard of the Morphogenesis Cancer Research Montebello in Oslo will take and Cellular Signalisation Laboratory at the on the role of EMBO Council Vice-Chair, previ- Insitut Curie in Paris. Two members were also ously performed by Antonio Coutinho of the

New EMBO members 2004

Siv G.E. Andersson, S Mariusz Jaskólski, PL Pernille Rørth, D

Yehudit Bergman, IL Klas Kärre, S Titia K. Sixma, NL

Christer Betsholtz, S Jan Löwe, UK Kirsten Skarstad, N

Michael Brunner, D Paolo Lusso, I Austin G. Smith, UK

Graham Neil Cameron, UK Andrew J. McMichael, UK Eirikur Steingrimsson, IS

Bart de Strooper, B Abraham Minsky, IL Iannis Talianidis, GR

Hugues De Thé, F Sergio Moreno, E Dimitris Thanos, GR

Ivan Dikic, D Klaus-Armin Nave, D Juan Valcárcel, E

Jeff Errington, UK Alain Nicolas, F Maarten van Lohuizen, NL

Marco Foiani, I Thomas Nyström, S Ashok Venkitaraman, UK

Hans Hengartner, CH Stephen G. Oliver, UK Karen Vousden, UK

Jonathon Howard, D Hans-Georg Rammensee, D

Laurence Daniel Hurst, UK Marina Rodnina, D

New associate EMBO members 2004

Nancy Kleckner, USA Dieter Söll, USA Peter Walter, USA

For more details of members’ institutes and research areas, see: www.embo.org/organisation/new_members_04.html

EMBOencounters | autumn 2004 | ©2004 EMBO [email protected] 8 News from the EMBO community

Bioinformatics learning takes to the road European School in Bioinformatics

The European School in Every six months the school touches down in a time help users in experimental labs to keep Bioinformatics leads a different European country. The next port of up with the developments in the field.” nomadic existence. call will be the Netherlands on January 22–28, The BioSapiens Network of Excellence also Established in January 2005, where over 40 young scientists will offers training at different levels ranging from 2004 as part of the EU- come together to learn the latest in genomics, introductory courses to expert training. The funded BioSapiens proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics overall goal of the network is to combat the Network of Excellence, the school has no fixed and systems biology. As with all European current fragmentation of bioinformatics location. Instead it operates as a mobile learn- School courses, the focus will be on ‘learning research across Europe. A number of other ing unit, taking to the road every six months to by doing’ with participants having the chance EMBO members are also involved in bring basic training and practical techniques in to try out their new skills on the computer. BioSapiens including Janet Thornton, Peer computational biology to young researchers all Anna Tramontano, EMBO member and Bork, Shoshana Wodak, Gunnar von Heijne, over Europe. The school is aimed at PhD stu- training coordinator for the BioSapiens Lazlo Patthy and Antoine Danchin. dents and young post-docs who are new to Network, explains the motivation behind the BioSapiens Network of Excellence computational biology or just starting to get to European School, “There is a clear need to www.biosapiens.info grips with bioinformatics tools in "-omics" train and recruit creative and innovative young 2nd European School on Bioinformatics projects. scientists in Bioinformatics, and at the same www.cmbi.kun.nl/euroschool

Immunology made ‘e’asy Web-based immunology teaching programme

EMBO member, Jean-Pierre Kraehenbühl,of article-based learning to develop skills in ana- the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer lytical reading of scientific literature and to Research in Lausanne, is responsible for a strengthen basic science knowledge. novel web-based immunology teaching pro- keep up gramme currently being piloted across five with Swiss universities. ‘Immunology Online’ offers tailored, interactive learning to medical and the literature biology students. using In today’s electronic age, new online learn- ing environments are appearing on a daily E-BioSci basis. EMBOencounters asked Jean-Pierre what makes this particular learning portal dif- Immunology Online is not only comprehen- ferent. “Immunology Online incorporates the sive in scope. The proposed geographical best of both worlds – not only does it benefit reach is also ambitious. Currently linking stu- from the unlimited opportunities of multi- dents and teachers from five different Swiss media technology but also uses a pedagogical universities, the ultimate aim of the pro- approach that can be easily integrated into a gramme is to move further afield and extend traditional immunology curriculum.” the network to other global universities. In par- On first sight, the portal certainly has the ticular, the organisers would like to use the desired ‘wow’ factor with videos of clinical online portal to bring the latest immunology cases, a virtual microscope and a clickable 3-D knowledge to medical students and healthcare body that sheds its layers to reveal the struc- professionals in developing countries. ture and function of human organs. But as Immunology Online is one of eleven bio- Jean-Pierre points out, what really sets the medical projects launched as part of launched portal apart is the breadth of content on offer. as part of the Swiss Virtual Campus, a joint ini- Immunology Online provides a complete tiative from a group of higher education insti- course with 8 clinical immunology modules tutions in Switzerland. Other projects include and six basic immunology modules. Students neurobiology, basic and clinical pharmacology, can choose from three learning approaches. and embryology. Medical students learn how to solve a clinical EMBOencounters readers interested in try- case using video footage, digital images and ing out Immunology Online can contact Jean- online discussion forums. The ‘structure to Pierre for a test user: function’ approach provides an in-depth [email protected] insight into the physiology of the immune sys- Immunology Online www.e-biosci.org tem. For biology students, the portal offers http://iol.bio-med.ch

European Molecular Biology Organization Event updates from 9 the EMBO community

Bridging the divide MitoCheck project tackles mitosis 2004 Nov 8–10, Rome, I Leading scientists from research institutes, determine what happens when these genes Chemistry and Biology: universities and industries across Europe are suppressed and subsequently analyse the the transition between the two centuries recently joined forces to tackle the fundamen- genes’ binding partners, phosphorylation sta- Maurizio Brunori, Ernesto Carafoli tal question of how mitosis or cell division is tus and potential role in cancer diagnosis. www.lincei.it/convegni/CONVEGNI.2004/ PROGRAMMI/PRG.CHEMISTRY regulated. The EU-funded project is called This is an ambitious project with potentially MitoCheck and aims to track down the genes far-reaching consequences for biological Dec 4–6, Edinburgh, UK required for division in human cells and deter- research and the understanding of cancer and Joint Biochemical Society/Royal Society of mine how protein kinases, a type of enzyme, other diseases arising from disruptions in the Chemistry meeting: RNA Structure and Function control the mitosis process. cell cycle. Technology developed within the David Lilly MitoCheck is coordinated by EMBO mem- scope of the MitoCheck project, such as www.biochemistry.org/meetings/ ber, Jan-Michael Peters of the Research genome-wide RNA interference screening and programme.cfm?Meeting_No=SA031 Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in mass spectrometry, is also likely to have an 2005 Vienna and brings together scientists from impact on biological research well beyond the March 6–8, Freiburg/Breisgau, D Austria, Germany, UK, Italy and France. cell cycle community. International Symposium: Participating researchers include EMBO mem- Despite the scale of the project, Jan Protein sorting Nikolaus Pfanner, Michael Reth bers, Tim Hunt, Kim Nasmyth, Tony Hyman Michael-Peters of the IMP is optimistic, “We www.proteinsorting.de (2003 EMBO Gold Medal Winner) and EMBO have set very ambitious goals, which no single April 20–23, Berlin, D young investigator, Andrea Musacchio as well research partner could have tackled alone. as EMBL-based scientists, Jan Ellenberg and This is very much a group effort reliant on our International Symposium: Proteolysis in Prokaryotes: Rainer Pepperkok. combined expertise in molecular and cell biol- Protein Quality Control and Mitosis is one of the most fundamental ogy, biochemistry, modern microscopy, pro- Regulatory Principles processes in the human body. Mistakes occur- teomics, bio-informatics and clinical pathology. Info and applications to Regine Hengge [email protected] ring during cell division contribute to disorders By bringing together a group of excellent such as cancer and infertility. European scientists from May 22–24, Madrid, E Despite huge strides in the under- such diverse areas, we Cantoblanco Workshops on Biology: Signaling standing of cell cycle regulation can hope to solve a com- networks in immunity and inflammation over the past two decades, the plex biological puzzle.” Jorge Moscat, Carlos Martínez-A, regulation of mitosis is still a rela- Klaus Rajewsky, Alain Israel tively undiscovered field. This is www2.cbm.uam.es/signal where MitoCheck comes in. The If you are involved in or organising an event that project aims to pinpoint a compre- may be of interest to the EMBO community, hensive list of the mitotic genes, www.mitocheck.org contact: [email protected]

Speakers corner

Have your say on hot topics in European science or make a comment on EMBO and its activities

In this issue, we feature a mass petition published in Science in August 2004 calling for urgent action on the establishment of a European Research Council (ERC). The letter was launched by the Initiative for Science in Europe and was co-signed by over 50 European scientific organisations including EMBO:

We call upon those who are entrusted by Europe’s people to create the conditions for Europe’s long- term future to act on the conviction that science is a cornerstone of European society. Providing funds »for researchers, engaged in basic research, at the European level through an ERC is an important milestone in achieving a knowledge-based society. « Do you agree? Make your views known by writing to [email protected].

Read the full letter here: www.initiative-science-europe.org/forms_maps/Science.pdf

EMBOencounters | autumn 2004 | ©2004 EMBO [email protected] 10 a good read — publications from the EMBO community

research articles

Changing the recognition speci- The genome of the diatom Congruent mammalian trees from ficity of a DNA-methyltransferase Thalassiosira pseudonana: mitochondrial and nuclear genes by in vitro evolution ecology, evolution, and metabolism using bayesian methods Timár E, Groma G, Kiss A, Venetianer P Bowler C (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Reyes A, Gissi C, Catzeflis F, Nevo E, Nucleic Acids Res. 32: 3898–3903, Paris/Stazione Zoologica, Naples), Pesole G, Saccone C July 25, 2004 Armbrust G (University of Washington, Mol. Biol. Evol. 21(2): 397–403, 2004 USA), Rokhsar D (Joint Genome Institute, Three-dimensional structure of USA), and 22 other laboratories worldwide the native Spliceosome by cryo- Science 306 (5693): 79–86, October 1, electron microscopy 2004 Azubel M, Wolf SG, Sperling J, Sperling R (2004) Molecular Cell 15: 833–839, September 10, 2004

books

Handbook of Comparative Structural Aspects of Protein Genomics Synthesis (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2003) (World Scientific Publishing, 2004)

By Cecilia Saccone and Graziano Pesole By Anders Liljas

“The Handbook of Comparative Genomics This comprehensive and highly illustrated will provide interesting reading and per- book provides basic and up-to-date sum- spective to almost everyone involved in mary of translation on bacterial ribosomes biological sciences.” with emphasis on the structural insights. Quarterly Review of Biology, March 2004

awards of excellence

Albert Lasker Award for Basic Gairdner International Awards Knighthood in Queen’s Birthday Medical Research 2004, USA 2004, Canada Honours, UK Pierre Chambon for his work on hormone R. John Ellis and F. Ulrich Hartl for their fun- Sir Gregory Winter, CBE for services to receptors damental discoveries concerning chaper- molecular biology one assisted protein folding in the cell and Anders Jahre’s Award for Medical its relevance to neurodegeneration Marcel Benoist Prize 2004, CH Research 2004, CH Adriano Aguzzi for his work on degenera- Erling Seeberg and Hans E. Krokan for their International Antonio Feltrinelli tive neurological diseases groundbreaking DNA research Award for Biology and Medicine 2004, I Morgagni Gold Medal 2004, UK EMBO Gold Medal 2004 Gottfried Schatz for his pioneering discov- Johan Auwerx for his work on nuclear María Blasco for her landmark work in the ery of mitochondrial DNA and his work on receptor signaling and its used in treat- area of telomeres the formation of mitochondria ment and prevention of complex disorders including cancer European Young Investigator International Society for Award (EURYIA) 2004 Computational Biology (ISCB) Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004, SE Reuven Agami, Francesc Posas, Overton Prize 2004 Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko Oscar Marin Parra, Maria Mota and Uri Alon for his outstanding contribution to for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated Bas van Steensel computational biology protein degradation

The next EMBOencounters issue — winter 2004/2005 will be dispatched in February 2005. Please send your contributions/news to: [email protected] by the 15th of January 2005

EMBOencounters | editor: Lindsay Johnson | copy editing: Lynne Turnbull | layout & graphics: Uta Mackensen European Molecular Biology Organization